The Beat of a Wing
by SecretSolstice
Summary: First fanfic, R&R plzz :) Shakz'tee is injured in battle. She calls for her dragon's aid, but she might have gotten a bit more than what she bargained for. How will she cope with the changes of truly becoming what her soul brands her as? - No lemons that actually count as real lemons tbh; may change later Odahviing/f Dragonborn
1. Chapter 1

AN: Sorry in there's any misspellings, or if it's too fast paced XD First fanfic, rated M for violence and some 't rated' situations in later chapters; No major lemons :P Well, without further ado, here is my Skyrim fanfic :) please R&R ^_^

**The Beat of a Wing**

Shakz'tee shouted his name, but it came out a mere whisper as the words of power left her lips.

"Odahviing!" she choked out.

Sure enough, her dragon came. The beat of his wings soothed her racing mind. She knew her friend would let no harm come to her, he was as loyal as they came. Dragons seemed to value that characteristic, and greatly at that. As the single beat of wings was joined by a second, her slowly closing eyes snapped open. Who else could possibly be here? Alduin was defeated; and the other dragons by now for the most part had simply been indifferent to her presence. It was nerve-wracking.

By now she was starting to cough up blood, as she had been overwhelmed in the surprise attack. Lydia, her housecarl, had been walking behind her, and then out of nowhere had vanished. She'd found her, alright, but not as she'd hoped. She'd found her longtime companion behind some bushed with a slit neck, with some disgusting man grunting and pounding in to Lydia's dead body like no tomorrow. She'd become enraged, as her sister in arms had been her best friend. She slit the man's head off, only to be run through from behind with a dagger. The small, yet deadly weapon had gone through one of her lungs. She still had managed to kill the Nord bitch that stabbed her, though it was getting harder to breathe now that she was on her back in this clearing a little ways off.

Finally, Odahviing and what she found out was Paarthurnax landed. She guessed that they had had been conversing when she'd called. Odahviing's eyes widened in surprise, she guessed because she was so bloody.

"Dovahkin… you are hurt," He spoke, his words shook the ground.

"We were…" I took in a wheezy breath. "..Attacked. Lydia didn't- _ngh- _make it..."

"Hush, my young friend. You only worsen your injuries," Odahviing responded softly.

Through this, she noticed that Paarthurnax simply sat, staring oddly at them both. What was unknown to the red dragon and the little shadowy kahjiit, however, was that Paarthurnax knew their bond was stronger than friendship. It bordered on love, but they both feared the others response to their feelings, seeing the difference in species, so they kept them secret. The old dragon had decided to ponder on it.

"Come, Dovahkin. We must tend to your wound," Odahviing murmured.

**Odahviing POV**

He thrust his snout under her back, lifting her off of the ground, then leaned his massive head back, letting her slide down to his neck. She held tight around it, so he gave a mighty flap of his giant wings, and they were off, Paarthurnax in tow. They flew for only a little while, his lair not being far, in the side of a nearby mountain in relativity to from where she'd called him. Once they'd landed in the sheltered mountain cavern, she toppled from his back, dizzy from the height and the loss of blood. Odahviing sniffed her form with obvious worry, his eyes wide with fear, something few dragons could experience. Her life fluids were beginning to pool on the cold stone floor. He nudged her over to a monstrous pile of furry pelts, indented in the center from where he often slept; his bed. He rolled the beautiful black kahjiit to her stomach, and inspected the wound. Oh yes, this was a bad injury, long term recovery would be had; time that he would gladly spend with her. He admitted, he had feelings for the shadowy warrior. He admired the way she fought, stalking quite literally like the panther she was, then striking when her prey least expected.

Snapping from his thoughts, he knew he needed to purify the wound, before the sun went down and the temperature dropped; which was already happening. His tongue sliding from his mouth, he licked the wound clean, making sure to get all of the blood. By Talos, her fur was soft. It felt like the fluff of a newborn foal, he'd know, a newborn animal had graced his stomach many times before. Sighing, he stepped over the now sleeping dragonborn. Curling protectively around his little Dovahkin, he drifted into a light sleep, but not before he could utter a single phrase; I love you.

And unknown to him, she had heard every word.

He cracked open one eye, the morning light momentarily blinding him. Laying his chin against the fur bedding, he tried not to move too much, as not to wake the tired kahjiit. Little did he know that the small Dovahkin was far from a kahjiit now, about as far away as you could get. He felt the rustle of her stirring, and the corner of his scaly mouth tipped up a bit.

"Dovahkin… You're awake," He rumbled lowly.

**Shakz'tee POV**

She moved to stretch her arms in front of her, only to see jet-black, scaly, massive, clawed dragon legs reach out from her sides. She tried to scream, but it came out a thunderous roar, shaking the ground for miles around. Whipping her head around violently, a sleek, shiny black body stretched back to the other side of the furry 'nest'. A massive black tail and two sleek wings… No. This couldn't be happening. It WASN'T happening. The dagger that had stabbed her must have had some illusion poison tipping the blade. Turning her head back around slowly, her eyes wide, she looked to Odahviing. His eyes were just as shocked as hers.

"What in the name of bloody Talos is going on?!" She tried to say, but it came out a roar.

"Calm down, Dovahk-," he almost said. "Shakz'tee. You have simply gained a body that suits your soul and voice. Now you can fly through the air, and herald doom or aid to those who you wish it upon. You are now a true Dovah; Inside and out," He spoke, barely above a rumbling whisper.

She calmed slightly at this. Not to say that she was the image of contentedness, but at least she wasn't bouncing off the walls. This, from her point of view, was a major development. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. If this was to be her existence, so be it. Really, it could be worth a try. Feeling the wind on her scales, soaring under the sun and blasting the sky with her Thu'um… She didn't see too much of a bad side, other than having to leave her human life behind. She could try to negotiate with the jarl of Whiterun to allow her and Odahviing to come and go from Dragonsreach, as she was still a thane, dragon or not. Only time would tell.

Seeing as she was lost in her thoughts, she wouldn't have noticed the red male dragon looking her up and down. While she had stirred around, a lot, she was still somehow in his bedded nest. He felt his dark red cheeks become slightly lighter at that thought. Shrugging it off, he knew it was just the unrequited feeling he had talking. She'd never love him back.

Unknown to him, she was thinking of a similar subject. Now that she was a true Dovah... Maybe he may love her back? It was frustrating, because as a Kahjiit, she had no chance with him. But now, she just might. Shakz'tee thought that maybe, in this form, she could live our her life with this dragon, if he accepted her, that is.

Discarding the thought, she tried to get to her feet. In this state, she might as well be a helpless wyrmling, because of her trying to get used to this body. She tried to stand, but all that did was raise her rear into the air, seeing as how she was used to standing on two feet. Dropping back to the ground, she let out a growl of frustration. How was she supposed to live this way if she could barely even move? Snorting, she used what felt like arms to bring up her front end, then tried standing. This time, she managed to get off the ground and on to all four feet. Smirking to herself in triumph, she took a step forward.

**Odahviing's POV**

He was amazed. Honestly. She had just become a Dovah and was already able to move with only slight awkwardness. Aside from the fine body the female had been gifted with, she was a blood dragon, and surprisingly so. He guessed she may have been given Alduin's dovah form for defeating him, just as a female body, not a male's. If that were the case, she'd be very powerful indeed. But knowing her, she'd use that power for good. The thought made him smile. He stood to assist the newly made dovah in learning how to operate her limbs.

"From now on I will call you Shakz'tee, Dovahkin, because you are no longer that of a humanistic form. Do I have your consent to do so?" He rumbled questioningly.

He could see her struggling to form a word with her mouth, so he offered the advice of relaxing her jaw as she spoke. Relief seemed to flood her eyes as the word finally left her mouth.

"Yes," She said, with a throaty yet deep feminine voice that left his mind in tatters.

How is it that she was so much more perfect as a dovah? He couldn't come up with an answer, so he simply left it knocking around in his head. She looked as though she was carved from obsidian, with sharpened pearls for her fanged teeth and embedded sapphires for eyes, which held a cold blue flame within them. He began to worry at this, yet marveled in the beauty of this female dragon before him. Other male dovahs would be on her in a minute, coaxing her with jewels and gold to be one of their mates. He refused to lose this loving, beautiful dovah before his eyes to some worthless dragon that would treat her like property, her body simply being a life support system for eggs. No, he thought not. She would be his, and he would care for her as though she was the very fire that kept him alive, which it was beginning to seem like she was.

"How will I be able to learn to fly if I can barely walk?!" his Shakz'tee wailed haltingly.

"Calm yourself, Shakz'tee. I will teach you, in due time. For now I believe it is safest for you to stick to the ground, as a fall from too far could result in long term injury, which would halt your learning for quite some time." He tried to soothe her, but this only seemed to upset her a bit more.

He knew she loved being in the air, he could sense her joy when he flew her to the Sovengarde entrance those few years ago. She was barely older than a child back then, fifteen if he remembered right, now she was nineteen, fully a woman, yet with 70 or so years of her life ahead. Now, she was more likely to last thousands of years, and to see history that even the people themselves would forget. Yet even still, she would look exactly the same when she met her end as she did now. Dragons did not age, they simply exist for a period of time, then die, or some lucky few did not. He himself was still young, about a thousand years old, out of the stages of wyrmlinghood. In fact, he would be around Shakz'tee's age if he weren't a dragon.

Snapping out of his thoughts of age, he turned back to her when he felt her staring.

"Odahviing… Is it true what you said last night?" She asked, barely above a whisper.

His heart leaped in his chest, because he knew what she spoke of; when he'd said aloud his feelings for her. He did not want to lie to the dovah he loved, but he did not know her reaction to his loving her.

"What do you speak of?" He asked hesitantly.

"I do not know if it was a dream or not, but in case it wasn't... I do too," She said, the last bit barely audible.

It was all he needed to hear. He slunk slowly forward, and even more slowly, almost painfully so, he brought his fiery red eyes up to her cool blue ones.

"In case you didn't notice…" He started, "I do," and was unable to speak afterwards, because she had surprised him, closed the slight distance and pressed her scaly forehead to his.

"Then teach me how to fly." She stated finally, and snaked her neck around his in almost a twist, likely the only embrace she could think of, due to her new form.

Without another word, he turned and began to walk towards the mouth of the modest cave, and beckoned her to follow with his head. What she hadn't yet known was that learning to fly wasn't a learned skill; it came naturally, like breathing. When she came to the edge of the cave a well, he gave her a look, asking if she was sure. She responded with a confirmation. So, giving her a comical look from his eyes, he head-butted her off of the ledge.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

**Shakz'tee POV**

She roared in desperation as the far away ground rushed towards her. The air was pushing up at her now, and she prepared for the end. What surprised her, however, was that she never hit the ground. Opening her eyes slowly, she discovered that she was hovering a few hundred feet above the ground. Her heart skipped a beat, and then swelled in her massive chest. Tears of joy were stinging her eyes. She could fly!

Flapping her wings as hard as she could, meaning to simply rise up slowly, instead she burst upward at amazing speed, going past the entrance to the cave. Oops. She was about to stop beating her wings when the faint beat of another set was heard. Looking down, she realized just how far up she was from Odahviing's cave. The peak of the mountain was far below her now.

The flapping of wings grew louder and louder, and Odahviing rose behind her.

"Beautiful," She said almost breathlessly.

"You, more so than the sky," He said, in a playful voice.

She turned around to see him racing away, curious, as she'd rarely seen this side of him before. Following, as best she could, she soon caught up. Not without struggle, mind you, as she was still learning, and the cold air was cramping her muscled wings.

"Where are we going?!" She shouted hoarsely in to the wind racing past her, wondering if Odahviing could even hear her at all.

He did not respond, he simply continued on, going a mile a minute. It had only been a few minutes when he stopped. They were at the top of the throat of the world, most likely to talk to Paarthurnax. Then again, why else would they be there? They circled the small area, and Odahviing landed.

Shakz'tee however, could not do the same. Landing looked almost painful, so she simply hovered above the ground, flapping just hard enough to keep her there. Odahviing looked at her in amusement, Paarthurnax looked on indifferently; to him it was simply a fine female dragon, and he chose to stay alone, being the leader of the greybeards and all. She continued to hover, as the two males began to talk amongst themselves.

"Do you recognize this one?" She heard Odahviing say.

"Not in the least, for I have never seen her before now," the old dragon replied, curiously.

"You should find her familiar, she is one you associate with often," She heard the red dragon state simply, only to hear Paarthurnax suck in a rumbling breath.

"You jest, Odahviing… Do you think me a fool?" The male started, cut off by Shakz'tee herself.

"He is perfectly serious," She said simply, gaining the attention of the two.

She swore she could see the elder dragon's spiky jaw hang open slightly. Shakz'tee guessed this probably had never happened before, or if it had, it happened very, very rarely. Her wings were beginning to tire out, since she was new to flying, so she slowly, ever so slowly, sank to the snowy ground next to Odahviing. Upon hitting the frigid earth, she immediately dropped to her haunches, exhausted. Amusement showed in both dragons' eyes.

"Prove it then, former Dovahkiin. Let me hear your Thu'um," The ancient dragon thundered.

"Are you sure of that?" Shakz'tee replied, with less effort than in the beginning.

"Would I have asked if I was not?" The elder dovah responded, sounding annoyed.

"No… I suppose not," She corrected herself.

"Well, what are you waiting on, Shakz'tee?" He asked, saying her true name for the first time. "I am growing impatient,"

She growled, and after a few moments, tested the first shout she'd ever used.

"FUS- RO –DAH!" She bellowed, for all of Skyrim to hear.

"Dovahkiin… It truly is you. Welcome to the throat of the world, this time, not as kin of the dovah, but of dragon kind yourself," Paarthurnax greeted her, formally.

**Odahviing POV**

He couldn't help but swell with pride as she was accepted by her first acquaintance as a dragon. He was also relieved that he would have no competition for her from his brother-like old friend. As it was midday, Loredas, he believed that it was a good time to fly. The sun shone over the rough peaks of Tamriel, and he intended to milk the weather for all it was worth.

"As regrettable as it is, friend, we must depart soon," Odahviing rumbled to Paarthurnax. "We must journey to the human town of Whiterun, to speak with their jarl about her... Transformation,"

"Ah. Well, brother, be off," Paarthurnax replied. "The wind is picking up,"

With that, the two took to the air. He relished in the feel of the air around him, his massive wings thriving in the sky, where they belonged. As the ground got further and further away, he looked back to Shakz'tee. What a sight she was, with her wings simply gliding over the air, as if the wind was allowing her to simply float. He turned around, only to have an arrow fly past his face. This was about to get interesting, as they had only just left the Throat of the World.

Screaming his sudden, fiery anger, he swooped towards the ground, ready to land and fight. But, what he found was surprising. The one who had let the arrow fly, was none other than Delphine, a friend of Shakz'tee's. Esbern was with her. They continued to leer, with threats, and promises of his death, until Shakz'tee landed, and then spoke.

"HOW DARE YOU!?" She bellowed with harsh, unrestrained rage.

"YOU WOULD HARM THOSE YOU ASSOCIATE YOURSELF WITH, EVEN IF THEY WERE SIMPLY IN A DIFFERENT FORM?!"

They were dumbfounded at her outburst and not sure what to make of it. They had obviously not recognized her yet.

"Why would we associate with those branded as our prey? Do you think us rash, beast?" Delphine responded coldly.

"Do you not recognize my eyes? You were the one to tell me that they were the only of their hue you'd ever seen, Delphine," Shakz'tee replied, and he could hear a hint of cold amusement in her voice.

The two blades' faces froze. Disbelief was wide in their eyes, as they now knew to whom they spoke. He knew that she had their full attention, as no one could have possibly heard that conversation other than the three. They doubted still, he could see it in their faces, but the recognition was there. The wind began to pick up, and the snow began to fall in the forest near Ivarstead. The humans were beginning to shiver, all of this, plus the conditions, beginning to overwhelm them.

Apparently, his chosen had had enough of it. She always had had a short span of patience, so far as he'd known her. She roared menacingly, seemingly encouraging the two to hurry with their thoughts.


End file.
